DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT

MEDIA RELEASE

Friday 23 November 2001

SEATON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MIX GEOGRAPHY WITH TECHNOLOGY

Seaton High School students have combined their knowledge of geography and technology to create web pages to investigate their local area.

The individualised web pages display information about students' own local council area, state and federal government electorates.

Teacher Louise Nordestgaard said the aim of the project was to encourage students to learn about their local electorate using the Internet as a source of information as part of their society and environment and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) studies.

'They personalised their web pages, and every student focussed on their own electorate,' she said. 'The information is now there for students to refer to when needed.'

The school was recognised for the project through the Department of Education, Training and Employment's ICT Innovator Awards which were presented recently.

Initiated this year, the awards were presented to sites that achieved excellence in the integration of information and communication technologies in a creative and innovative way.

Seaton won the award in the E-Learning category, which recognises high quality curriculum and the integration of digital technologies to improve learning.

Education Minister Malcolm Buckby congratulated the winning schools on their success in the awards.

'Information technology is an important tool for the future and it is vital students are taught the skills necessary to enable them to be confident and creative users of new technology,' he says.

'The award-winning success of so many of our schools recognises the commitment and dedication of our teachers in this important area of education.'